A Divergence in the Path
by Alexx Evers
Summary: We all know the story, Lily Evans falls in love with James Potter, blah blah blah. But what if she didn't? What if there was someone else who loved Lily just as fiercely as James but was quieter about it? What if Lily fell for him as well? Rated T just in case. Read and Review!
1. Chapter 1 - Sirius

**1 September 1971**

For Sirius Black, going to Hogwarts meant finally getting away from home.

The Black family was known for several things. One, they were pureblood supremacists. They believed that pureblood wizards were the only decent, worthwhile wizards to associate or even have magic. Two, they were one of the last few completely pureblood wizard families, though that was due to pruning of their family tree and a bit of inbreeding. And lastly, the only ones worth mentioning in their opinions were all Slytherins.

When Sirius got to Platform 9 3/4 he left his parents and got on the train as soon as he could. He had a plan in his eleven-year-old mind. He would not associate with family friends, he would become his own person. He just wanted to be Sirius, not Sirius Black. He found an empty compartment and settled into it for the long train ride. He put his legs up on the seat next to him to try to discourage anyone he knew from coming in.

He heard the door slide open and turned to see who it was. In front of him was a pretty girl with red hair. She was looking at the ground, determined not to look at him.

"Do you mind if I sit with you? I don't know anyone else and it seems like you're all alone so...", her voice trailed off and she finally looked up. Her eyes were a bright green, they stood out particularly well since her eyes were rimmed with red as if she had been crying. Sirius found this strange, who cried when they were going to Hogwarts?

"Sure," he said, pushing his dark hair out of his eyes. He didn't recognize this girl, meaning she was probably a good person to befriend.

She went to the farthest corner from him and turned to the window, he heard a sniffle from her and thought twice about talking to her. But, as was common with Sirius, thinking twice changed nothing.

"What's your name?" he blurted, which was strange for him, he never blurted things out.

She slowly turned back to him and appraised him with her strange green eyes,

"Lily Evans," she said slowly, as if hesitant to give her name.

"I'm Sirius," he said, "It's nice to meet you."

At that point, before they could say anything else, two more boys came to the door.

"Can we join you? All the other compartments are full." The boy with black, unruly hair and the hazel eyes asked. Sirius nodded to him and the two boys entered. At that point he looked back to Lily and was disappointed to find that she was once again looking out the window, watching the train slowly pull from the station.

"I'm James Potter, by the way," the black-haired boy said. Sirius had heard of the Potters, they were another pureblood family, but they weren't like the Blacks. They had no problem with muggleborns or muggles. This would make a good friend for Sirius, his parents would hate it.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Sirius." He hoped that the boy wouldn't ask for his surname, he turned to the sandy-haired boy next to James, "What's your name?"

"Remus Lupin" he said, "Are you all first years too?" he asked, saying what they were all thinking. The two black-haired boys nodded. Remus then turned to Lily,

"What's your name?" he asked, probably noticing that she hadn't looked away from the window once. Sirius had noticed it too.

She turned to the new boys in the compartment and introduced herself once more. The redness had left her face since the last time Sirius had seen her, but her green eyes were still vivid.

As happens with most first years on the train to Hogwarts for the first time, they started talking about potential houses.

"So, what house do you all think you will be in?" asked James, running his hand through his black hair.

"House?" Lily said, a quizzical look on her face, "Could you explain? I'm muggleborn." She said the last part so sweetly and with pride that Sirius was a little taken back. He was so used to hearing muggleborn said with a hint of disgust. This was a delightful change for him.

"There are four houses at Hogwarts," Remus began to explain to her, "They are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. they each have a quality that is important to them. The houses are named after the four founders of Hogwarts and are modeled after the trait they most admired." He paused then, "Would you like me to go on?" he asked, "I don't want to talk your ear off."

"Go on," Lily said with an encouraging smile, she was glad that there was someone willing to explain to her about Hogwarts so she wouldn't be lost. She had bought a few extra books when she had went to Diagon Alley with Professor Dumbledore, but she hadn't gotten around to reading them.

"Godric Gryffindor favored courage and bravery," he said, launching himself right back into his explanation, "Rowena Ravenclaw favored wisdom and knowledge. Helga Hufflepuff admired loyalty and Salazar Slytherin prefered cunning and self-preservation."

Lily nodded, at his explanation and took it all in.

"So where do you think you will end up?" she asked him,

"Gryffindor!" James yelled, jumping into the conversation, "Where dwell the brave at heart!" he stood and pretended to wave an imaginary sword.

At that moment, the compartment door opened once again, and another boy with greasy black hair walked in.

"Sev!" Lily shouted, jumping up to hug the new arrival, "Sit with us!" Sirius watched the new boy look around the compartment with wary eyes, then turned back to Lily and nod.

"Guys, this is my friend Severus Snape," she said to the boys, then turned back to Severus, "We were just talking about houses," Lily said,

"I hope you're in Slytherin," Severus said to Lily, "That's where my mum was and where I want to be."

"I would leave if I got put in Slytherin," James interjected, "Wouldn't you?" he said, turning to Sirius who was keeping his face blank.

"My whole family has been in Slytherin," he said, watching James face go complete shock.

"And here I thought you were alright!" James said in disbelief, but Sirius let out a goofy grin.

"Hey, maybe I'll break the mold." Him and James laughed and turned back to Severus and Lily,

"Gryffindor is the best house, Lily. No one good has come out of Slytherin in a long time." James said,

"I could attest to that," Sirius scoffed, knowing all too well.

Severus made a noise and ignored the two boys' comments.

"Do you have a problem with that?" James asked, glaring at the boy who had thought he had the right to come in here and bother him and his new friends (nevermind the fact Lily had invited him, James ignored that little detail).

"Gryffindor is full of self-absorbed prats," Severus stated as though he had just said the grass was green.

"Now you see here you little sniveling, greasy haired -"

"Stop!" Lily shouted, looking back and forth between the two boys, "Can you get along? Please? I would like to be friends with all of you."

Sirius and James looked at each other, and then looked back at Lily,

"Not if he is going to be a slimy Slytherin," James said, and Sirius nodded. He already knew at this point that there was no way he would be in Slytherin.

Lily's face turned a dark red as she turned to Severus,

"Come on, Sev. Maybe we don't want to be friends with these guys," and she turned and walked out. Sirius jumped up and as Lily and Severus started down the corridor he yelled,

"See ya, Snivellus!" Him and James promptly burst into laughter and closed their compartment door.

The rest of the train ride went quickly, and before they knew it, all the first years were lined up in front of the entire Great Hall as they were sorted into their houses by the sorting hat.

"Black, Sirius" Professor McGonagall called, and Sirius slowly walked to the front, dreading what might happen here.

McGonagall placed the hat on his head and almost instantly Sirius heard a voice,

_Interesting, you are of the noble House of Black. It would make sense to put you where you belong, in Slytherin._

At that Sirius winced slightly, that was the last place he wanted to be.

_Even more interesting, that is not where you wish to go. You have a strong will, young Black, and I see a lot courage in you. You will need more in the coming years so the best place for you is -_

"Gryffindor!" The hat shouted out this last word and loud applause came from the Gryffindor table as Sirius walked over to it. He soon sat with others who expressed in whispers their shock that a Black wasn't put in Slytherin, but they welcomed him with open arms.

Soon it was Lily's turn to be sorted. And she too got put into Gryffindor. As she walked over to the table, Sirius grinned at her and moved over to make a spot for her. She just glared at the black-haired wizard and moved further down the table. Sirius frowned slightly and watched her sit and introduce herself to other Gryffindors.

Soon, the rest of first years were sorted. Sirius was joined by James, Remus, and a slightly overweight blonde boy named Peter Pettigrew. Severus Snape ended up in Slytherin. During dinner, the four boys laughed and talked about Quidditch. They could tell that they would be great friends.

Sirius knew that his parents would be in shock and disgusted to find out about his house and that he was friends with a Potter. But he didn't care, he would do what he wanted from now on, he was a Gryffindor and it was time to be brave.

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**A/N: So, I changed my story line slightly, and had to change this chapter a bit too. It's mostly the same. The title is different too, I wasn't well organized. I apologize. **

**Don't forget to review!**

**-Alexx**


	2. Chapter 2 - Lily

**1 September 1971**

Lily Evans was still overwhelmed by the fact that she was going to Hogwarts. She was so excited, and had been ever since she found out she was a witch. She had always known that she was different, but being magical had never crossed her mind.

But of course, Petunia had to ruin it all for her.

They had just gotten to Platform 9 3/4 and Lily and her parents were looking around in wonder. Everywhere they looked there were oddly dressed people with children. The children were all pushing carts like Lily's, but some had owls in cages or other strange things protruding from them. There was yelling and laughter and for once you could see that going back to school was a happy thing, something to look forward too.

Petunia, however, just stood there with her arms crossed and stared at the ground between her feet. She hadn't said a word to Lily since early that morning and seemed to be determined not to.

"Tuney, maybe when I get there I can talk to Dumbledore. Maybe I can get you to come too." Lily said, trying to get her sister to at least look at her.

"No, I don't want to go to some school in the middle of no where that no one has ever heard of." Petunia said, still staring at the ground.

"But, then why did you already write Dumbledore?" At that, Petunias head snapped up at Lily with a fierce look in her eyes.

"You've been in my room!" she yelled, "How dare you! It was probably you and that boy!" Petunia looked at Lily with fierce eyes, and cut Lily off when she tried to explain.

"I don't want to hear it! And I don't want to go to some school for . . . for . . . freaks! That's what you are, a freak!"

Petunia fumed as tears were trailing down Lily's face, she even looked smug in Lily's eyes. Their parents were stunned, they had never seen this kind of outburst from Petunia and didn't know how to deal with it.

"Tuney . . ." Lily started, reaching out for her sister, but Petunia only snatched her arm away and went to stand on the other side of their stunned parents.

Lily looked at her parents and then wiped her face,

"Well, I should be getting on the train then." she said softly, hugging her two parents. They returned her hug fiercely and told her to write often, and that they would see her at the holidays.

And with that, she left her family and climbed on the train.

Most of the compartments were quickly filling, and she kept looking for an empty one. Finally, about halfway down the train she found a compartment where a lone boy with black hair sat with his legs up on the seat next to him. She sighed and slid open the compartment door, and looked at the ground so that the boy wouldn't see the remnants of her tears.

"Do you mind if I sit with you? I don't know anyone else and it seems like you're all alone so...", she trailed off, not knowing if he was possibly waiting for someone and suddenly felt like a fool. She looked up at him and noticed that his eyes were dark like his hair, and he had a sort of regal look to him.

"Sure," he said pushing his dark hair away from his face.

She went to the opposite side of the compartment and sat as close to the window as she could, she needed a few minutes to gather her thoughts and get back in the mood for making new friends.

The boy's voice broke into her thoughts not too long later,

"What's your name?" he asked, and she turned to him. She finally properly looked over the boy, she noticed that though his clothes were plain, they were definitely high quality, and that he held himself with a confidence rarely seen in eleven-year-olds.

"Lily Evans," she said,

"I'm Sirius," he said, Lily noted that he didn't offer up his last name as well, "It's nice to meet you."

Just as he seemed as if he was going to ask another question, two more boys showed up at the door to the compartment. One of them has black unruly hair and the other was a sandy blonde, as they asked to join Lily turned back to the window to try to think again.

She listened to the new round of introductions and learned that the dark-haired boy was James, and that the blonde was Remus.

Remus asked her name, and she was relieved as she turned around and introduced herself to the boys. She had thought that she would be forgotten with the new additions.

As they all talked, she tried to get a feel for the boys. Sirius seemed content to lounge in his seat and throw out his opinion every once in a while. James liked to be heard, and seemed to also have the confidence that Sirius had but in an over abundance. Remus was different from the others, he had more than willing to explain the concept of the houses and to get her thinking of where she would like to go.

Then the door opened once again, but this time, Lily recognized the boy opened it.

"Sev!" she screeched, excited to see her best friend, Severus Snape, who had introduced her to magic when he caught her doing accidental magic one time. She then put everyone through another round of introductions, excited that she already had so many friends, and they haven't even gotten to school.

Though, she slowly watched that all crumble away as they continued their conversation about houses and the boys immediately got into an argument. James and Sirius were all of a sudden very defensive and rude. She was surprised, they had seemed to nice. She then got angry, because Severus was her best friend.

"Stop!" She shouted, looking between all the boys, "Can you get along? Please? I would like to be friends with all of you."

Sirius and James looked at each other for a second and then turned back to her,

"Not if he is going to be a slimy Slytherin," James said, a hint of disgust in his voice that Lily did not like one bit.

"Come on, Sev. Maybe we don't want to be friends with these guys," Lily said, and with that, she pulled Severus out of the compartment.

Behind her she heard a shout,

"See ya, Snivellus!" She didn't know if it was James or Sirius who said it but she heard the laughter.

Lily and Severus wandered for a while before they found a compartment near the end with a small girl sitting by herself. Lily tried to engage her in conversation but failed, so she turned to Severus.

"I'm sorry, Sev, I thought they were nice guys." He only looked at his hands for a few minutes after she said that and finally turned to her,

"I got bullied and teased too much at home to deal with it here. I'm supposed to fit in here, I want things to be different and they won't be if we're friends with those two." he said slowly, as if trying to convince her. She understood though, and agreed. She had seen a side of those boys that she hadn't expected and she didn't think she liked it.

the rest of the train ride passed quickly and before they knew it they were at Hogwarts. Lily was completely silent the boat ride across the lake, she was mesmerized by the castle and still couldn't believe that she was actually there.

The sorting seemed to be a strange affair. it started with a singing hat, and then the hat was placed on each students head and while on the student's head, the hat would yell out one of the four houses and the student would walk over to that houses table. It seemed easy enough.

She noticed the boy from the train, Sirius Black, got put into Gryffindor, and she recalled him mentioning that his whole family was in Slytherin but that's not where he wanted to be. She didn't know what to feel, the boys had all seemed so nice until Severus had come in. She watched a few more students get sorted until,

"Evans, Lily," the woman who had introduced herself as Professor McGonagall called out. Nervously, Lily walked to the front and placed the hat on her head.

_Hmm, you have a fire within you._

The voice seemed to come from the hat itself, and Lily felt her eyes go wide.

_Yes, I see even more so. You are strong._

_What exactly do you see?_ Lily thought to the hat, curious.

_I can see an inner strength in you that even you aren't very aware of. You are willing to do everything you can for those you love, even when they don't treat you well. You also have the ability to love intensely. I know your place, I am sure that its -_

"Gryffindor!" the hat yelled out, and Lily grinned. She sat the hat back down and went to the Gryffindor table, the one cheering the loudest.

As she was walking, she saw Sirius grin at her and move over, making room for her on the bench. She looked at him briefly and then continued down the table to an empty spot.

Lily was soon joined by the small girl from the train, who was named Alice it turned out.

When Severus' name was called, she hoped that he would be put in Gryffindor. She closed her eyes and crossed her fingers.

The hat took a long time on Severus, longer than it had taken on anyone else. The rest of the students started to get nervous and talk among themselves. Lily saw from her seat that Severus had closed his eyes.

Finally, after a few moments, the hat yelled out,

"Slytherin!"

Severus let out a toothy grin and gave the hat back to Professor McGonagall before heading to the Slytherin table. Lily was slightly disappointed but she knew that her and Severus would still see a lot of each other.

During dinner, Lily got to know Alice, they chatted away and Alice told Lily more about being a witch. Lily knew that this girl would be a great friend of hers.

The boys from the train were the last thing on her mind. She was a witch and she was here to learn magic.

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**A/N: A new chapter already! Mostly because I fixed chapter one and I had to get everything all sorted out. Don't get used to this quick updating! Anyway, I changed a few things about the story, including my whole plan, the summary and the title. I hope you guys like this! Read and Review please! How will the story be better otherwise?**

**-Alexx**


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